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"In the Air Tonight" Scene
The "In the Air Tonight Scene" is arguably the most memorable and famous scene of the Miami Vice television series. It occurs in the pilot episode "Brother's Keeper", or, when the episode is split into two parts as it often is for syndication, "Brother's Keeper (Part II)". Background Prior to the scene, Crockett and Tubbs have been tailing drug lord Esteban Calderone, who is responsible for the murder of both Tubbs' brother and Crockett's Metro-Dade partner Eddie Rivera. They set up a meet with Calderone and wait for the call. Tubbs goes to meet Calderone's right hand man, Trini DeSoto; little does he know, a departmental leak means DeSoto is aware that he is a cop, and he intends to kill Tubbs on sight. Crockett intervenes at the last minute, saving Tubbs' life and killing DeSoto. The leak is traced to Crockett's ex-partner and best friend Scottie Wheeler, particularly galling as it makes him responsible for the death of Crockett's partner Eddie. The Vice cops confront Wheeler at his house; Crockett attacks him, sickened by what he has done, before Tubbs and Lieutenant Lou Rodriguez pull him off. Wheeler is arrested. Knowing that Calderone is aware that they are cops, the two officers head out for the meet with the Columbian drug lord anyway, knowing it is the only chance they have of bringing him down and avenging those who have died... The Scene Despite the fairly minimal amount of plot progression it contains, the scene is set to almost the entire length of the song "In The Air Tonight" by Phil Collins, some five and a half minutes, stretched out through the use of cinematic shots of the Miami night, particularly highlighting reflections of the city's neon lights on the shiny black bodywork of Crockett's Ferrari Daytona Spyder. During the long drive towards the inevitable confrontation with Calderone and his goons, Crockett pulls over at a desolate phonebooth to call his ex-wife Caroline, asking her if their relationship was "real", knowing this may be his last chance to speak to her. She confirms that it was. As the climactic drum crash of the song kicks in, Crockett and Tubbs pull away, their minds now focussed on the impending showdown with their nemesis. The sequence is notable for having all background sounds removed, leaving only selected dialogue and the accompanying music audible. In the years since, this technique has been seen often, particularly in the feature films of series executive producer Michael Mann, and gives these important scenes a dramatic, dream-like quality. The sequence quickly became a landmark in television history and no doubt led to the heavy integration of popular music throughout the show. The concept has also been copied outside of the series, and today it is common practice to overlay audio tracks over climatic scenes, both in film and on television. Notes *So popular is this scene that it was mimicked several times on the show during its run, most notably in the finale "Freefall", in which a nearly identical sequence takes place, featuring the song "Bad Attitude" by Honeymoon Suite. In both scenes, Crockett and Tubbs are driving through the night in Crockett's Ferrari towards a violent confrontation they seem unlikely to survive unscathed. *Michael Mann is a prolific user of the muted background sounds and accompanying music technique seen in this sequence. It can be seen in his feature films Manhunter, The Last Of The Mohicans, Heat, Collateral, Miami Vice and Public Enemies. *UK police procedural television series Ashes To Ashes, which is set during the 1908s and often lampoons many of the style trends popularised in Miami Vice, features a dramatic scene in it's second season set to "In The Air Tonight", no doubt an homage to "Brother's Keeper". Ironically, the scene abruptly cuts off just when the lead character is about to drive to a meeting. Video thumb|300px|left|"Our relationship Caroline, it was real, wasn't it?" Category:Miami Vice Season 1 Episodes Category:Miami Vice Music